Landscaping maintenance helps turn your overgrown yard into a relaxing paradise. From basic lawn care and lawn maintenance to more intricate landscaping services, different types of landscaping will suit your needs better, most of our clients just need a one time cleanup after months or years of neglect. Taking our dead shurbs, removing vines and weeds, removing things that no longer resemble plants, cleaning of walkways and patios, edging, and installing a fresh layer of treated colorized mulch. Many people around here cut their own lawns, and they just use our company every Spring to come in and make everything beautiful for the season.
Here we are offering a guide on what we offer, what services are common, as well as pricing and tips. Please always feel free to call us at 757 759 5747 if you have additional questions and would like a quote.
Types of Services Offered by Landscape Maintenance Services from Bloom Lawn and Landscaping.
Spring and Fall Clean Up
With the changing of the seasons comes changes to your lawn care and landscaping requirements. When fall and spring kick-off, your yard needs extra care, typically things just turn "unmaintained" during the winter and a spruce up is needed. Bloom Lawn and Landscaping, and our amazing team will clean your mulch and flower beds, edge your beds and remove debris. Also, they will trim back any perennials for new growth in the coming months. You may find empty spaces where new shrubs can be installed.
TIP: do it all at the same time, so that you are not paying for multiple visits. So if you plan to install 12 new azalea, have our company do it as the same time as we do the cleaning and mulch, its so much easier to get it all done at once... and that means you save money!
You should typically receive spring and fall clean-up twice a year when those seasons get underway. If not, then the spring cleanup is important, as this is when mulching is done. Don't wait until May as we get super busy and it may be hard to get scheduled in a timely manner. Reach out to us early in the months of January and February to setup your spring cleanup
General Bed Maintenance/Detailing
Every now and then you might want to have your flower and mulch beds cleaned up. This general maintenance includes weeding, trimming and edging. Not as in-depth as spring/fall cleans, your landscaper should perform general maintenance fairly often. This keeps your yard looking nice year-round and keeps it easy to control. Roundup is often applied by homeowners but may not be enough to keep beds clean. We can apply PREEN before installing mulch and this will keep weeds down for many months so you don't have to be out there spraying roundup on your beds every day.
Pruning/Hedging
Just like your lawn needs a cut, so do your flowers, bushes, trees and shrubs. The PRO's at Bloom Lawn and Landscaping will know exactly when to prune a plant, and the different trees you have. Pruning at the wrong time could damage certain plants, be careful especially with camellia and rose bushes. Additionally, a professional from Bloom will know just how much to take off without damaging the plant. Some plants can take a butchering and will still come back, but many of the nicer plants are more sensitive and need correct maintenance, otherwise they just might not end up looking good. Maintenance is the key!
Landscape Plant Protect and Feed
Many plants draw in a lot of nutrients from the soil. In order to keep them healthy, your landscaping service can put these nutrients back into the earth. In addition to feeding, they will also perform pest and disease prevention measures to protect your plants. Bloom has the right products and expertise to do this! You can do it yourself using the different products from Home Depot, but the problem is they are expensive and you may find that you spend more on material then it would if you just have Bloom apply it since we are buying all this stuff in BULK by the trucks and pallets so our price may be 30 cents on the dollar compared to Home Depot.
Leaf Removal
During the fall and with certain species in the spring, deciduous trees and some conifers shed their leaves. This needs to get cleaned up before they start snuffing out your lawn and plants. Our Professional landscapers can clean up the leaves and take them away from your property, leaving you with a clean space. If you are in Williamsburg for example or the 23692 zip code of Yorktown and especially in the older communities, leaf removal may be one of your biggest landscaping tasks of all. Don't worry! We have a super powerful leaf vacuum that can remove up to 25 tons of leaves per day. We can take care of your large leaf removal project. We can even bring our skid steers is there is accumulation of leaves left from the entire season. We recommend removing your leaves at least once every 10 days in the fall so they don't kill shrubs and lawns.
Lawn Mowing & Trimming
Finally, lawn mowing is the most frequent form of lawn and yard maintenance. During the summer months, grass can grow fairly quickly, especially in moist environments. This year we are asking folks to cut back on fertilizer to help us be more "green". Some fertilizer literally does nothing but make your grass grow faster so this has no other benefit. Instead of using nitrogen, lets focus on applying nutrients that help improve color such as Iron. Grass must get trimmed once a week or once every other week, depending on climate. A landscaping service can mow your lawn and give a professional finish for maximum appeal. You can try a 10 day schedule to cut down on the number of mowing's. If your lawn gets mowed weekly then you will average 34 cuts per year in the Yorktown, Williamsburg area, and 36 cuts in Virginia Beach. Richmond, Toano, and Gloucester Markets will see about 31 cuts per year. If you reduce mowing to every 10 days, now the number of cuts can decrease to 28 cuts per year, so you save yourself 5 cuts and that can be hundreds of dollars.. plus benefits to our environment.
Lawn Service Costs
Like most services, cost varies based on the specific kind of service, size of the project and location. If you want more work done you should expect to pay a little more as well. The landscaping company you choose may offer different prices, but you can use this as a guide. Bloom's prices are a little bit higher than other companies as we are fully insured, and have quality trained staff.
Monthly Lawn Care Cost
Bloom estimates that the average homeowner will pay between $150 and $400 per month for lawn care. However, this cost depends on specific services and the size of your yard. General services usually include mowing, trimming and basic upkeep. If you want a more intricate project, your costs will rise greatly. If you add pruning, weed control, fertilizer, this makes the price vary.
Weekly Lawn Care Cost
Many service providers will charge around $45 to $55 per visit for a typical 3000 sq foot home. This typically includes mowing and trimming on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. You can usually pay a little less when you sign a contract for returning services.
Annual Lawn Care Cost
Over the course of a year, homeowners will typically pay between $2,500 and $5,600. Yard size mostly determines overall prices. In many cases, you can pay a little less when you sign a landscaping contract to perform multiple services, Bloom offers full scope services so you have to do nothing in your yard, besides enjoy it, spend time with family, make BBQ, etc.
Lawn Aeration Cost
Lawn aeration helps nutrients and water find their way into your soil down to your lawn’s roots, in Virginia our soil is made of clay! Grass hates clay. Aeration is super important if you want to have a good fescue or bermuda lawn! Dont skip this service. It costs anywhere between $175 and $1500, depending on yard size and required services, how much seed is needed, and if you have bare spots. Beware of folks who ride around offering aerating services for very low prices. You may not get your lawn aerated correctly, or they will puncture your irrigation, ride over beds, destroy landscape lights and wires, and they will put down very cheap lawn seed or none at all. We have seen one of these "landscapers" install rye grass.. yikes! this was done to a homeowner that spent thousands in prior years to have the perfect fescue lawn.
Fertilization Cost
Lawn fertilization takes place in stages since it usually requires several applications. Expect to pay between $70 and $380 per application. We recommend to shop this service out and get three quotes, as many companies use satellite now and you may get a better quote by default. Make sure your lawn care company gives you a report with how many lbs of each chemical and nutrient they applied. If they cant produce this paper then what have they really done? This service sometimes get's "ghosted" check our blog for more info about what this means.
Installing a Sprinkler System Cost
A sprinkler system will help give your lawn water at the flick of a switch. Depending on material quality and size of your yard, installation can cost $1,950 to $5,500. You may also need to install a drainage system along with your sprinkler to keep from flooding your yard. In 2023, we recommend to take a close look to see if this system is really needed. Fescue lawns need irrigation, but bermuda does not. Let's be water smart!
Tree Trimming Cost
Considered a more dangerous task, tree trimming costs a lot more than just hedging and pruning. Tree size and shape play a huge role, adjusting the cost anywhere from $400 to $1200. It may cost even more if you have a particularly tricky situation in need of fixing.
Dethatching and Power Raking Cost
Dethatching refers to removing the top layer of thatch from your lawn. Made up of grass, roots and dead grass, thatch can keep your lawn from getting proper water and sunlight. Dethatching costs anywhere from $300 to $1500. Power raking is an extreme way to remove thatch and costs $30 to $80 per thousand square feet of lawn.
Lawn Replacement/Restoration Cost
When you need to replace your lawn but do not want to wait for the reseeding process, consider lawn replacement. Instead of just seeds, you get already growing sod, ready for application. Replacing one-fifth of an acre can cost anywhere from $3,500 to $8,000 or more. The price of sod also varies depending on the type of grass, location and market availability.
]Other Questions about Landscape Maintenance
How Much do Bloom Gardeners Make?
Our staff at Bloom is paid above market. Recently wages have gone up due to the market dynamics. We think paying our workers more means they are happier and thus do better work so its is worth it to compensate people well, especially those we value that have proven their work ethic over the years. We provide paid Holidays to our teams.
Do I Need to Tip the staff that comes out?
While most landscapers do not expect a tip, you can always express your appreciation with one. How much you decide to tip depends on the service, but they will appreciate any bonus. Anywhere from $5 to $50 is more than enough of a “thank you.” Please don't think that a $5.00 dollar tip is too little. Its the act of appreciation itself that matters more then then money. For larger project, if the crew was truly incredible, tips of $100 are common for crew leaders and $20 or $40 per crew member. If you spent $10,000 on a project, then spending 2% or $200 on crew tips is a nice gesture... and it doesn't need to be more! Please don't ever feel pressured to give tips, as in our industry it is not a standard practice. If you wish to pay the Tip through us, please include it in your check and specify how you wish to have it divided. We give 100% of the tip to the staff of your choosing.
6 Lawn Maintenance and Gardening Tips
Keep an Eye on Soil pH
Soil pH determines how well your grass can grow. Have you noticed how the grass under trees especially under pine trees looks more yellowish and sparse? Usually under trees the PH drops. Since pH levels can change, you want to keep an eye on it and adjust as needed. Sometimes healthy-looking soil might not have the correct pH levels grass and plants need. If your yard has moss, it means that the PH is very low.
You can test your soil pH yourself or have a professional do it for you. Grass usually likes it somewhere between 6.0 and 7.2. Pro tip: lime raises pH and iron lowers it. Call Bloom for a lawn analysis.
Feed Shady Areas Less
Sunlight alters how much water and nutrients your grass needs. Overfeeding or fertilizing a shady lawn does not help it and just kills it faster. Since grass grows more slowly in the shade, it does not need as much fertilizer. No fertilizer in the world can overcome inadequate sunlight levels.
You also do not need to water shady areas as much, since the shade keeps water from evaporating. Overfeeding your lawn can kill it just as much as underfeeding it. The lawn experts at Bloom will give you the best advice.
Plant Trees as if They were Fully Grown
Whenever you plant a new shrub or tree, treat it like it is already fully grown.. or at least think 5 and 10 years out. Visualize how much space it will take up as it grows. This will keep you from overcrowding your beds. It also helps you determine where you can plant your trees. Planting a tree too close to a structure can cause damage to both... avoid it unless its a smaller tree and you want that "certain look". Consult our experts we will advise you on what types of plants can be used for challenging landscape areas. Call us today.
Healthy Grass Prevents Weeds
Bloom always says that a thick lawn/yard will keep weeds from sprouting up. The fuller your lawn, the less space for weeds to poke out. An unhealthy lawn leaves plenty of gaps and space for weeds to get plenty of sunlight. So if you want a weed-free lawn, take care of your grass, ensure its lush and the weeds will naturally stay away! Call the experts at Bloom to see how we can help improve your lawn and landscape quality.
Use Ground Covers for Landscaping Issues
Ground cover goes a long way towards preventing erosion and keeping rocks in line with your design, plus consdier the fact that ground cover reduces how much mulch is used.... so its smart too!
Mulch Leaves Instead of Raking
You can mulch, or shred your leaves and spread them around your yard. This not only reduces maintenance time but also acts as a natural fertilizer. You can mulch your leaves and grass by going over them with a lawnmower. Instead of collecting the mulch in a bag, blow it around your yard.
You might still have to do some raking since too much mulch will kill the grass underneath. But so long as you have a manageable amount of leaves, let the mower do the work.
Protect Trees with Mulch ... and keep weeds down
ALL Tree roots love the protection offered by soil and other coverings. You can protect your trees by surrounding them with mulch. Mulch helps a tree’s roots keep their moisture, and also keeps critters away from eating them. Put a two to four-inch layer of mulch around the base of your trees. Surround them with a three to four-foot border of mulch. Mulch helps control weeds.. and it looks nice. Consider also rock beds. If drainage is a concern let us know. Some plants like Italian Cypress must have excellent drainage to survive. Mulch keeps grass and weeds from fighting your trees for nutrients, allowing them to grow full and healthy.
Finding the Right Landscaper, you already did!
If you live in Williamsburg, Yorktown, Hampton, Poquoson, Newport news, Suffolk, Toano, Glouster, if you have a house on the York River or James River....the landscaping experts at Bloom Lawn + Landscaping can take care of all of your landscaping needs. In addition to regular lawn maintenance, Bloom ffers custom landscaping, paver patios, outdoor kitchens, drainage, landscape design, LED landscape lighting for the outdoors. As your landscape architect and landscape designer, we turn your dreams into a reality. Call us for a free consultation.
The perfect backyard landscaping design is closer than you thought. Our company delivers great value and amazing products for your home.
